When used in applications such as walk-behind lawn mowers and snow throwers, small, one or two-cylinder engines often have a fuel tank mounted thereon. The fuel tank is usually positioned to the outside of most other components so that it is easily accessible for filling. When components hidden by the fuel tank need servicing, however, the tank will often need to be removed. Thus, the structure and method for attaching the fuel tank to the mower should afford easy removal.
On the other hand, the attachment structure and method should securely and reliably hold the tank in the desired position. To ensure that the fuel tank remains tightly secured to its engine, however, some methods of attachment are complex, costly and difficult or awkward to assemble. Specifically, for example, one prior art arrangement for a fuel tank with respect to surrounding components is shown in FIGS. 1-2B. As shown in FIGS. 1-2B, a cover or shroud 10 can be configured for receiving a fuel tank 20 therein. Specifically, fuel tank 20 can comprise a fuel line 22 and a protruding ear 24, and cover 10 can comprise a recess into which fuel tank 20 can be positioned and a retainer shape 12 that can engage protruding ear 24 to hold fuel tank 20 in place.
To assemble this system, fuel tank 20 must be inserted such that protruding ear 24 can pass around retainer shape 12, and then fuel tank 20 must be twisted into a position in which protruding ear 24 is aligned with retainer shape 12 (i.e., so that fuel tank 20 cannot be pulled straight out). To maintain fuel tank 20 in this position, a retaining clip 30 can be used to couple protruding ear 24 to retainer shape 12. For example, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, retaining clip 30 can comprise a substantially U-shaped clip having two opposing legs that can surround and engage both of protruding ear 24 and retainer shape 12 (See, e.g., FIG. 2B).
Although this process can result in the fuel tank being securely yet removably connected to the surrounding components, the requirement that the fuel tank be maneuvered around the elements of the cover before being secured in place by the retainer clip means more process time can be required for this method. As a result, the process can be difficult to automate, and thus it is generally done by hand.
Accordingly, there exists a need for systems and methods for secure yet removable coupling of a fuel tank assembly to a combustion engine that do not require complex or costly connections that are difficult or awkward to perform.